Depends if the longer term political (and thus financial) payout is deemed worthwhile.

The channel is a laughing stock with hardly any viewers.

You can’t actually bribe the Tory party

Now there’s a contentious statement.

The last few years suggest strongly that you kind-of can, if you know how to go about it.

That ex-actor Fox seems to be funded by someone and all he seems to do is say something stupid on Twitter and then get ripped to shreds by people far smarter than him (a pretty low bar mind).

£5m from a Brexit supporting fund manager.

Yep, these “libertarian” millionaires/billionaires love nothing more than splashing their cash on a rentagob because “you can’t say anything these days”. Absolutely nothing to do with quietly pushing for deregulation and tax cuts for the very wealthy, no sir.

but you can bung a whole load of money to a media outlet for them to pedal your views directly to the voters.

Or voter, based on the audience figure

Leaving aside my distaste for the right wing in general and the trump/fox news/UKIP/Farage types in particular I’m trying to work out why I find political biased news/opinion channels as a concept at all so objectionable. I’d feel uncomfortable with a left wing channel too. I guess news papers with well know bias in editorial content and opinion piece bias has been a thing all my life so whilst I despise DM style journalism it’s always been that way. But TV has always striven to remain balanced (if it manages it or not will always be up for debate – it’s reassuring that claims the Beeb are biased come from both political wings which for me at least means its got it about right).

But TV has always striven to remain balanced

In the UK and it’s part of their license terms, they are not permitted to be politically biased. I believe that officially GB News is supposed to be ‘balanced’ as well.

I would have thought the payout would be more in terms of “advertising revenue”.

This. It’s how the Murdoch Press has operated for a long time, and it’s a proven model, even if the Sun newspaper is now rated as financially worthless.

They can’t beat the BBC news however, but that has been steadily infiltrated by the right wing since Cameron was in, and now the upper echelons of BBC management are getting the same treatment.

Don’t need to worry about the BBC not being around, as long as it does its job for the current Government.

The channel is a laughing stock with hardly any viewers.

As PJM put below, Lawrence ‘****wit’ Fox lost his deposit in the mayoral election yet his ‘party’ gets a £5m donation from some Brexity shit who is looking to cash in. Despite already having enough money for ten lifetimes.

It ain’t ‘how’ it is ‘how much’.

Principles – shminciples.

Lawrence Fox is regarded as a bellend by the majority of people. He doesn’t give a shit, though, because enough people like him as he embodies their own inadequacies and prejudices. Enough to keep him in clover for the rest of his days, without having to lift a finger. Job done.

It’ll still be shut within a year.

It’s an abject failure.

But TV has always striven to remain balanced

I don’t think so, I think the opposite is true. In the UK we are spoiled because we have a supposedly neutral state broadcaster. For all its failings it does try to do this. The situation is a hell of a lot worse when all you have is commercial telly because they need commercial revenue which leaves them open to all sorts of obligations and it’s without scrutiny. The BBC (still) raises the bar for all UK TV media.

Useful reading, which shows why a lurch to a full-blown “culture wars” agenda would be problematic for GB News.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code/section-five-due-impartiality-accuracy

Also useful for those who feel unclear about why UK TV and newspapers are different in the way they tackle politics.

Of course GB News could cannily sidestep this by becoming a YouTube channel instead. I wouldn’t bet against that.

It’ll still be shut within a year.

It’s an abject failure.

The same applies to Laurence Fox’s gob once he says something truly dreadful that gets him shunned by the media a la Hopkins, Yaxley – Lennon, Yiannopoulos etc. The money dries up and they plead poverty before embarking on a far-right patreon grift tour.

I don’t think so, I think the opposite is true.

You might need to look up what striven means. We agree with each other.

Of course GB News could cannily sidestep this by becoming a YouTube channel instead. I wouldn’t bet against that.

They’ve had more viewers on yt already than they’re ever likely to get on TV.

“Face it, this bed’s been shat, and I need to get out of it.”

yes you can – loads of folk do it. large donation to individuals or party funds – see Jenrick etc

Ok, I should have added “discreetly” to qualify it. And you still (in principal) can’t if you’re a foreigner.

Whereas Rosneft and Gazprom could thrown money at GB News when we hold a referendum on whether to be anexed by Russia.

Tinas – foreign nationals bribe the tories all the time – and very subtly

Whereas Rosneft and Gazprom could thrown money at GB News when we hold a referendum on whether to be anexed by Russia.

It’s a well established tactic that long pre-dates GB news, it’s widely known in media circles that RT pay unusually generously for any public figure willing to appear, those that take the bait tend to rapidly become more willing to publicaly defend Putin’s agenda as they lose credibilty and revenue from elsewhere and end up relying on RT to pay their bills.

They can’t beat the BBC news however, but that has been steadily infiltrated by the right wing since Cameron was in, and now the upper echelons of BBC management are getting the same treatment.

BBC news website is getting increasingly click baity, TV and radio dumbed down. There is still is strong output but you need to look for it quite hard

I also note that James Purnell is still on the rise and the new head of news has left wing views, so if it’s a right wing infiltration it’s not that effective

PJM1974
Free Member

The same applies to Laurence Fox’s gob once he says something truly dreadful that gets him shunned by the media a la Hopkins, Yaxley – Lennon, Yiannopoulos etc. The money dries up and they plead poverty before embarking on a far-right patreon grift tour.

It’s a natural progression, it starts out as an easy way to get more views and more reactions, just be a little bit more awful every day. But eventually you get to the point where being a little more awful is quite hard, but also takes you closer every day to being Too Awful. Hopkins was pretty much a master of it but you always run yourself out of room. Most people are terrible at it, because there’s not that many people that can be sociopathic/amoral enough to choose it as an option, but also clever/cunning enough and self-aware enough to keep within the lines.

Like, look at Tucker Carlson. Lived the life of riley for years, all he had to do was be a little bit more awful than the bulk of his audience, which he thought he was good at because it was pretty easy. But when the audience started tipping awfuller, he first failed to keep up, then had to swing massively awful to get those guys back, and now he’s stuck way out in the awful corner, appeals to less people than ever and can’t ever get back, so his life from now on is just Trying To Keep Up With The Scumbags And Hoping They Don’t Kill And Eat Me.

BBC news website is getting increasingly click baity, TV and radio dumbed down. There is still is strong output but you need to look for it quite hard

That’s dumbing down rather than bias – though both can have similar consequences, obviously.

Ok, I should have added “discreetly” to qualify it. And you still (in principal) can’t if you’re a foreigner.

See the dark money article I linked to.

I had a peep. Inspired me to get some Inktober practice in.

That is incredibly well captured.

Tinas – foreign nationals bribe the tories all the time – and very subtly

I thought bribing tories quite openly was the new model for UK government going forward.

It’s called lobbying and for a donation you get private contracts to supply the NHS..that will never be privatised..just bled by tender for everything supplied to it.

He’s on Question Time tonight… (or tomorrow night, whenever it’s on…) 🤷‍♂️

He’s on Question Time tonight

Isn’t that the way right-wingers generally get cancelled – by being given a platform on QT?

I’d love to see AN back interviewing politicians on the BBC.

And I’d trust him to hold the current gov’t to account better than most of the other interviewers. He’s just the best in the biz.

He was just the best in the biz.

He’s sunk his own boat.

He’s sunk his own boat.

Dunno how tarnished he really is, he was hardly even on GB News.

And if I were the Beeb I’d be keen to get him back, if only to hedge against the commonly held view that the place is a nest of pinkos.

if only to hedge against the commonly held view that the place is a nest of pinkos.

Wouldnt really help considering its just the right wing loons complaining at anything other than complete agreement with them.
His primary problem with the bbc would be with those same right wing loons. They have demanded that the staff be restricted on social media and given his twitter comments in particular he would last about ten minutes.

Wouldnt really help considering its just the right wing loons complaining at anything other than complete agreement with them.

I disagree, the BBC is making big efforts to be seen as being less metropolitan liberal elite-ish, and yes AN does fit that description – but bringing him back would likely help them in their attempts to mollify the present government.

given his twitter comments in particular he would last about ten minutes.

I don’t use Twitter, but all I’ve seen are examples where he’s taken issue with some of the racist, xenophobic **** on “his side”.

Also, doesn’t Lineker still present MoTD?

They’ve had more viewers on yt already than they’re ever likely to get on TV.

I was thinking the same. It’s also easier to ‘get away with it’ on youtube etc. Looking at some of the comments under aforementioned BBC Coast bloke, some of his new fans are openly issuing death threats to ‘vaxxers’ and to doctors. Well done GBN. Well done. /sarcasm.

but bringing him back would likely help them in their attempts to mollify the present government.

No they would just demand more and more. The hard right metropolitan elites have been doing their best to portray anything other than complete agreement with them as a left wing bias but the only way to end that would be for the bbc to join the mail and spectator levels of bias.

but all I’ve seen are examples where he’s taken issue with some of the racist, xenophobic **** on “his side”.

You should take a look. He does let his bias come out full force on twitter and whilst the hypocrites on the right would probably think its fine it would be hard for the bbc to support.

I don’t use Twitter, but all I’ve seen are examples where he’s taken issue with some of the racist, xenophobic **** on “his side”.

Nope, he spends quite a bit of his time on twitter deliberately misunderstanding the concept of white privilege then getting really angry about it being a thing.

Nope, he spends quite a bit of his time on twitter deliberately misunderstanding the concept of white privilege then getting really angry about it being a thing.

Both things are possible you know.

Sorry wasn’t disputing what you said just that it’s far from the only thing he posts on twitter.

He has a big problem with BBC shows that portray the British empire as not being 100% wonderful also.

Talk TV from Murdoch, hopefully will go the same way

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/media/murdoch-announces-new-tv-channel-and-piers-morgan-will-front-it-290850/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=sfeu&fbclid=IwAR2Dp0J-2mrzr28esF2-OnL7kcUXpPsb1giYfw5AxoQWxCDozX1HRMD_oes

Well at least Murdoch knows how to actually do TV, but I can see it being just as successful as Times Radio (ie. not very).

Hopefully another nail in the coffin of Piers Morgan’s career anyway.

münecat on the short horrorstory history of Andrew Neil’s GBeebies popped up in my feed tray today. I feel it a duty to share here:

‘Gammon Boomer News’

Astute, the youth.